The present invention relates to seat assemblies and restraint systems for passengers in moving vehicles such as commercial airplanes.
Reduction of head injuries to commercial aircraft passengers in the event of an emergency is of great concern for obvious safety reasons, and also is the goal of certain Government regulations. In commercial aircraft, the seats immediately behind the bulkhead are of special concern because of the possibility of a passenger's head striring the bulkhead in a high impact event such as a crash or emergency landing. While the chance of head injury for occupants of these seats could be reduced by increasing the distance between the seat and bulkhead, this would also significantly reduce floor space available for seating and therefore have a significant adverse impact on revenue in commercial aircraft.
What is needed is a seating and restraint system which reliably reduces head excursion (i.e., the forward distance traversed by an occupant's head during a high impact event) so as to prevent or minimize the chance for head impact on the bulkhead. This would have the same beneficial effect in reducing head injuries as would increasing the distance between the seat and bulkhead, without the loss of seating space. Such a reduced head path seat should ideally have little impact on aircraft interiors, cause no reduction in seating density, and preferably involve passive technology needing no triggering devices. The features which contribute to reduction of head excursion should be imperceptible to the passenger during normal operation, so as not to affect his or her comfort.